You Did It Again, Chase!
by Ozwin
Summary: Annabeth can't tell Percy what she feels. Happened during TLO after the battle. Nothing after that happened, but this one did. Percabeth. R&R.


A/N: Hey…So, it's 8:41 PM and I'm just bored while I am writing this. This occurs during after the battle in The Last Olympian. Nothing that happened in after the battle, but this one did. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians!

He was so beautiful that I wanted to die whenever I caught a glimpse of him. His messy black hair was glorious in the wind, and his sea-green eyes were so…mmh.

But I couldn't admit that I love him very much to him. Probably everyone else noticed, but I was good at keeping these kinds of things a secret when it was directly asked to me. _No, I don't _love _him – he's just a friend, _I would say with a very convincing expression. Then they would leave me alone.

But still, I couldn't help but smile whenever he looks at me.

Grover, I thought. Grover would know what to do.

After dinner, I spotted Grover trotting beside the forest. I tried to remember what I wanted to say and ask that would not scare him off.

"Hey, Grover," I called with a wave. My satyr friend turned around and gave a friendly smile.

He walked toward me slowly. "What's up, Annabeth?"

"Nothing much," I replied. "But…I have a problem, and please don't laugh when I say it to you."

Grover scratched his head. "Yeah, yeah, I guess I could do that. What is it?"

"Umm…Well, it's about…Percy."

He cocked an eyebrow.

I tried to pretend I didn't see his expression. "I think I like him."

"Well, that's a surprise," he laughed out sarcastically. "Do you mean like as in _like as a friend_, or do you mean like as in…_love_?"

I blushed like crazy. He was testing me – _me, _of all the people. "You know what I mean."

He sighed. "You'll have to say the statement before I could help you."

"What statement?"

"You know…I love you-know-who…"

My cheeks flushed. "What the…No way!"

He smiled slyly. "Do you want me to help you or not?"

I groaned.

"Say his full name, okay?"

I gulped. "Fine. I love Perseus Jackson. There, I said it."

"With feelings."

I gasped, but immediately shook my head. "Fine." I took a deep breath and said in my convincing tone and face, "I love Perseus Jackson."

Grover seemed satisfied as he crossed his arms. "Okay, that's cool. So what do you want me to help you on?"

"I can't _tell _him," I replied with a sour tone. "It's not my style. But I want him to know, too. What do you think a Wise Girl like me should do?"

He scratched his chin. "Hmm…I'm not a Wise Guy, so I don't really get why you can't just confess it to him. But I guess there is another way."

"What?" I asked eagerly.

"Date him."

There was silence after that, and I was frozen. _Date _Seaweed Brain? Okay, Grover crossed the line. But…he did have a point. What better to show Percy how much I loved him than to have a private date with him?

I took a deep breath and licked my lips absentmindedly. "I'm in."

/

The next day was preparation time – a couple of tree nymphs who were fond of Grover will be helping me out for things I should do on a date.

The four of us were in one of the safe places in the forest, where no one will be able to spot us. Grover had brought a big picnic cloth and some food – a whole large Tupperware (as big as a turkey) of chopped chicken, salad, enchiladas, cake, bars of chocolate, bottled water, and some utensils. I was guessing it was going to be a long day with the tree nymphs which I was told had the names of Lindsey and Penelope. Lindsey was a pretty blond model-like nymph who met Grover when he was courting her; Penelope had the same beautiful body structure with chocolate-colored hair who met Grover the same way.

"You must be Annabeth," Penelope started, shaking my hand. I didn't know nymphs were polite.

Lindsey giggled. "I was told the cute guy – Percy, was it? – called you Wise Girl. Are you really smart?"

I flinched at his name. "Yeah. I'm a daughter of Athena."

Penelope widened her eyes. "Really? Anyway, let's start. Do _you _know anything about Percy?"

_A whole lot_, I wanted to tell her, but I didn't want to sound like a total stalker. "Yeah, I guess. I know the things everybody else knows."

Lindsey looked a little unconvinced. "I'm betting you know more than that."

I bit my lip. "A little."

The blond girl smiled, contented. "Okay. Do you know what he looks for in a girl?"

I thought about that for a moment. "I'm not really sure. But I'm guessing someone as pretty and beautiful as you are as smart as I am."

Penelope smiled encouragingly. "Wow, you're really honest. I love it." She winked. I had a feeling she wasn't sarcastic.

Lindsey smiled the same way. "Yeah, I like it too. Do you know his favorite color?"

"Oh, that's easy," I said, shrugging. "Blue."

Grover smiled. That was the first time I realized he was gulping down chunks of chicken, one per five seconds. As if I wouldn't notice.

"Mmm," Penelope replied, munching on a bar of chocolate herself. "Then I'm guessing you should wear a really cool _blue_ accessory, let's say…a _headband_!"

Lindsey high-fived with her. "That's perfect, Pen!" She turned to me. "We'll pick out the perfect attire for you when we get back to your cabin – of course, without anybody noticing. Maybe lunchtime."

The rest of the hours was usually the same thing – they would ask me a question, I answer, they say a comment, and then give me advice. It went on and on until the food Grover prepared was almost finished.

I realized Grover hadn't said a word when the nymphs were giving me advice, not even a short side comment. The best I got was a smile. "What, the cat got your tongue?" I laughed.

Grover smiled. "I'm not really in to girls giving advice, especially to you."

Lindsey and Penelope led themselves to the Athena cabin. It was amazing how when we got there it was lunch. We had three hours before they would come back.

"Come on," I told them. I ran up the hill to reach the Athena cabin.

Believe me, I had a _lot _of clothes. I had them from my father, who was worried that I would wear the same clothes for weeks. He had taken time buying clothes from casual to special occasions. He had made me bring a whole suitcase filled with dresses, skirts, and blouses of different colors – mostly blue, which I am proud of.

It took an hour of dressing and undressing until Lindsey and Penelope found the perfect attire: a blue headband and blue bangles, a pretty purple sleeveless blouse that reached up to my thighs paired with black leggings, and a pair of glamorous black sandals. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I thought I looked like a runway model. Of course, I didn't say that out loud. I looked casual and beautiful at the same time. I realized this was the real beauty I had all along that I wanted to share with Percy.

"You. Are. Gorgeous." Penelope clapped her hands gleefully. "Do you like it, Lindsey?"

Lindsey grinned and placed her hands on her hips. "I didn't know she was this _beautiful_…OMG, I could make you my demigod doll!"

"Yeah, sure," I muttered. Lindsey and Penelope kept praising how I look, but I was praising myself, too. _You did it again, Chase_, I smiled to myself. My blouse was backless, and I never realized my back was so stunning. Lindsey had placed a cute necklace of a heart, and it made me look so charming. Yeah, I just can't help but praise myself.

Lindsey, Penelope, and Grover bade goodbye. It wasn't until I realized that the three had a date prepared themselves, and I smiled. He always got the girls.

I changed back to my Camp Half-Blood tee and jeans. I took off my headband and bangles, and regretfully took off my sandals. For another thirty minutes, I just lied down on my cot. I looked at the Athena clock. One more hour…

Then I ran a bath in my bathtub.

_It's time_, I thought while soaping my navel. _After this, I will have to ask Percy out._

While dreamily squeezing the rubber duck my stepmother gave to me when I was eleven, I tried to get used to the fact that _this girl _was going to ask a _guy _out. I wanted it to be the other way around, but never mind. I had no choice.

Once I dried my hair with my hair blower and changed back to normal, my half-siblings began coming in one by one. One of them asked, "Why weren't you in lunch?"

I smiled to the girl, who I knew as Jessica Damon. "I don't want to get fat. Anyway, I think it's good to ditch meals every now and then for a healthy body. And someone might notice if I offered my _whole _meal to the gods."

After all, I was my cabin's role model. Soon, somebody will ditch too.

/

It was six in the evening. I went out to walk to Percy's cabin. It was heartbreaking to realize that he lived there all alone. I knocked on it.

The door revealed _my _Seaweed Brain, and he was as clueless of what I'm going to do as ever.

"Hey," he greeted. Man, he was _sixteen_. I still can't get over the difference of his voice since I met him when he was twelve.

I waved to him. I was really good in acting, and I knew it myself. "You have plans?"

To my surprise, he blushed. _Why the hell would he blush? _He looked cute when he scratched his head while doing that. "Uh, no. Not really. Why?"

"Do you mind hanging out with me? I'm kind of, like…bored, I guess."

He widened his eyes and flushed again. _Why was he doing that? _It kind of pissed me off. "Cool. Where are we going?"

"The forest," I replied. I memorized this line with the tone Lindsey had taught me. "Bring your portable table and chairs and I'll bring the food. I'll give you time to change."

Without looking back, which Penelope told me to do, I walked back to my cabin to change. I didn't even give him a chance to reply, which I thought was good. This wasn't an ordinary date after all.

/

We had left our stuff in near a tree and hiked the forest. Good thing the gods have taken care of the monsters that lived in it before. When we needed to rest, we went back to the tree and assembled Percy's cute blue portable table. The two chairs also matched the table. I placed the sandwiches in Ziploc, bottled water, pint of ice cream, and utensils on the table. I bought them in the Camp Half-Blood Snack Bar which I had suggested to Chiron five months ago after the battle, along with other stalls like Camp Half-Blood Gift Shop, Clothing Store, and Knick Knacks. And Chiron magically created it for a few hours.

We were silently munching on our sandwiches quietly when I decided to kill the silence.

"I needed to tell you—"

"I have something to confess—"

I realized we said it at the same time and also muttered a sorry at the same time, too.

"Ladies first," Percy said with his breathtaking crooked smile.

"Just go first, Seaweed Brain," I laughed.

He took a deep breath. "Annabeth, I have something to confess to you. I kept it a secret to myself for five years, and it started since I met you."

I caught my breath. _Please tell me he's saying what I think he's saying…_

"…and I think…I think I like you Annabeth."

That was the statement I had always wanted him to say for years.

In instinct, I walked over to his side of the table and placed my lips on his. _You did it again, Chase, _I thought. He stood up, not letting go of our connected lips, and I knew that after all this years, we realized that we had wanted to say the same thing to each other, thinking the other wouldn't feel the same way.

_You did it again, Chase._

A/N: WELL? I hope you like it! Please, REVIEW! :)


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